With the fate of the travel ban exemption for Islamic Emirate officials being decided now by the UN Security Council, the foreign ministry stated that sanctions should not be used as a form of pressure and that all travel restrictions on Islamic Emirate officials should be lifted in accordance with the Doha Agreement.
“IEA MoFA calls on UNSC not to use sanctions as pressure tool. It was agreed in the Doha Agreement that all sanctions shall be removed from IEA leadership, a clause that should be implemented in full,” tweeted the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, adding that if the travel ban is extended, it will create a distance between Afghanistan and the world.
“If the travel ban is extended, it will create distance instead of promoting dialogue & engagement, an outcome that must be prevented,” Balkhi tweeted.
In June, the United Nations Security Council revoked the travel ban exemption of Abdul Baqi Haqqani, acting Minister of Higher Education, and Sayed Ahmed Shahid Khial, deputy Minister of Education, and extended it for another 13 people by two months.
The first deputy of the prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the second deputy, Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi, the political deputy of the prime minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the acting minister of foreign affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the political deputy of the foreign ministry, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar, the intelligence director, Abdulhaq Wasiq, minister of information and culture, Khairullah Khairkhah, deputy minister defense Fazel Mazloum, minister of economy Din Mohammad Hanif, minister of Haj Noor Mohammad Saqib, minister of Borders and Tribes, Noorullah Noori and minister of energy and water Latif Mansour are those whose travel ban exemption period has ended.
“The Taliban government will face more isolation and pressure, if the travel ban exemption for Taliban officials is not extended,” said Sayed Javad Sajadi, international relations expert.
“The discovery of al-Zawahiri in Kabul has greatly sadden the people and they have come to the conclusion that the Taliban’s commitments are not believed and the Taliban are breaking their promises and sanctions should be imposed on them,” said Wahid Faqiri, another international relations expert.
Members of the United Nations Security Council have not come to a final decision regarding the extension of the travel exemption for some officials of the Islamic Emirate.
The United States of America, China, and Russia have differing views on whether the United Nations Security Council should extend some Islamic Emirate officials’ travel exemptions, according to the Associated Press.
“The divided U.N. Security Council failed to reach agreement on whether to extend travel exemptions for 13 Taliban officials now ruling Afghanistan so they will expire at midnight Friday,” AP’s report reads.
Diplomats from the UN said that the US has suggested a travel ban for seven Kabul officials and a limited extension of the travel exemption for six other officials to Qatar.
Earlier, the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN has said that the final decision about the travel exemption for officials of the Islamic Emirate will be made on Monday.
